Yama Rising

After all, what were Yin spirits supposed to do whilst waiting to be reincarnated?

Therefore, this amusement park stood for far more than mere entertainment facilities. It represented both the longevity of Hell’s governance, as well as a simple probe at the entertainment appetite of the Yin spirits currently in Hell.

Qin Ye responded softly, “The shard of King Yanluo’s Seal would enable me to go anywhere in Hell I so desire, so long as it forms part of Hell’s territory. I’ll do my best to return as often as I can. Besides, the Yin spirits would only become even more orderly when the gates of Hell open up. Furthermore, the mortal realm wouldn’t be too concerned about one of their own, so I wouldn’t be too concerned on that front.”

He blinked and stared intently at Qin Ye, “Brother Qin… are you… still living in the mortal realm?”

“Don’t you think that… that’s rather inappropriate?”

Wang Chenghao gulped and went on, “Brother Qin, you’re the King Yanluo of Hell! Don’t you think it’s not appropriate to be habitually absent from events as major as this? Are you planning to throw it all to Arakshasa? The Frontier Brigade hasn’t been commissioned yet, so we’re expecting the complete attendance of 20 million Yin spirits! Do you think she’d be able to have oversight of everything happening all on her own?”

Wang Chenghao wasn’t a fool. He knew full well that if these were questions that had occurred to his mind, there was no way Qin Ye wouldn’t have considered these things as well.

“There’s no longer a need, is there? Doesn’t Ashmound give you more than enough to go on? You’ve got over 20 million Yin spirits, and a multitude of things to be done! What good would remaining in the mortal--...”

“N-no.” Wang Chenghao was somewhat stumped by Qin Ye’s question.

“What do you mean by ripe? All you need to do is simply to fake your own death…”

“One year! That’s all I’m asking! Why is everyone forcing me to sit in the throne right away?!!”

Wang Chenghao opened his lips to respond, but found himself rendered completely speechless.

Unfortunately, he didn’t dare go on.

“There are only eight days until the grand festivities celebrating the Hungry Ghost Festival.” Qin Ye waved his hand somewhat wearily, “I’ll be addressing the citizens tomorrow to notify them of the details of these festivities. Everything has already been vetted through and approved by Hell’s ministers. We’re well on track as far as the Hungry Ghost Festival is concerned. You may take your leave for now. Go inquire of Secretary Zhou as to where your lodging is going to be. He will show you where you can get your supplies as well. I’d like to be alone for a while.”

Qin Ye crossed his arms, shut his eyes and lowered his head, where he languished in his own thoughts. After some time, he got to his feet and took his leave from the building located in the heart of the Mythic Palace of Reflections.

Damn these plethora of loose ends…

He felt terrible that he couldn’t always be around for the upcoming Hungry Ghost Festival celebrations. It was almost akin to the head honcho making nothing more than a cursory appearance every now and then during the grand national day celebrations.

Qin Ye sighed wistfully in his heart. Hell’s needs had completely changed ever since he’d seized control of Ashmound. After all, the moment he seized control marked the moment that he had discarded his role as the mayor of a small town and assumed responsibility as the mayor of a large municipality. It marked a qualitative change in his role and responsibilities. Naturally, he knew that it wasn’t appropriate to continue straddling both realms. He lusted after his old lifestyle back in the mortal realm, and he also wanted to do well as the mayor of the city. That said, he knew he couldn’t have his cake and eat it as well.

It felt like getting used to the high life, only to have to take the plunge in pursuit for something more.

Then, just as he was walking down to the fifth floor of the building, he heard a voice suddenly call out to him, “It’s rare to see you in such a plaintive and contemplative mood.”

The sixth floor of the building was where the Mythic Palace of Reflections was located, and not a single Yin spirit was allowed to come close to those parts - not even Arthis. This was a barrier that the Harken had personally erected, and Qin Ye was the only exception to the rule.

“Because I couldn’t find you during the day.” Arthis responded placidly, “You’ll be addressing the people tomorrow to inform everyone about the details of the upcoming festivity. That said, don’t you think you’ve forgotten to fix a time for the same?”

Arthis paused for a moment, and then responded with some measure of disdain, “Well, then, Lord-Busy-Qin, when would be a good time for you? I hope you’re not thinking of holding a general assembly in the middle of the night like our meeting today, right?”

Her words were filled with undeniable sarcasm, yet Qin Ye didn’t even know where to begin with a retort. Thus, he paused for a moment, and then responded curtly, “Seven.”

“Nah.” Arthis flatly refused as she motioned to take her leave, “It’s probably better that I refrain from doing something like that. I wouldn’t want to have to do all the legwork, only to have you cancel on us because of something you have to attend to in the mortal realm. Besides, as soon as you manifest your spiritual body, everyone in Hell would be able to see you.”

7 August. 8 days until the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of Hell were opened once more.

He was somewhat drained from having to deal with all of the documentation at night. Truth be told, there were a number of questions that arose in his mind when he was going through the documents, but the Yin spirits responsible for the paperwork had all retired for the night, and were nowhere to be seen.

Qin Ye was just about to head out for breakfast when he received a phone call.

Qin Ye thought about his engagements for the day, and then promptly responded, “Let’s do it right now.” With that, he hung up, flagged a cab down and made his way straight towards the Special Investigations Department.

Mo Changhao’s here as well?

Mo Changhao nodded at Qin Ye, “I didn’t intend to head down personally, but I was informed that Mr Qin had personally investigated the site and determined that the threat might be at the level of an incarnate revenant. There are only two Infernal Judges in the Eastmount Province right now, so I’d thought to head over in person to take a closer look at matters.”

Given their age, they must each be subject-matter experts…

The notion of the calm before the storm once again surfaced on his mind.

It felt almost as though everything were stirring beneath the facade of calmness, ready to erupt at the slightest of catalysts.

Naturally, none of them would object to an Infernal Judge’s use of the washroom. This time, as soon as Qin Ye entered a cubicle, he immediately retrieved his shard of King Yanluo’s Seal and took a glance at it.

This time, every facet of the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal depicted the exact same image.

Even then… he could sense that the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal felt slightly different from before.

And right now, he was experiencing the calm before the intense, raging storm.

“Furthermore, our investigations reveal that there are some mega structures located below that appear to have been in existence for the longest time. We’ve already sent word back to the SRC headquarters to request support from the most professional archaeological team. They should arrive shortly, and the excavation date is presently slated for 15 August.”

15th? Again?

Everything appeared to be converging together like the tightly knit fuse of a pack of dynamite, whose fuse had just been lit.